A “loud music strictly prohibited” sign hangs haphazardly from the garage wall.

Guitars of varying colors, mixing boards, pedals and amps are stuffed between yard work equipment and bicycles.

For the Denton Record-Chronicle/Tim Monzingo

Melcher Rockwood, a member of Denton band Lazy Native, jams on guitar in the band’s rehearsal space.

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The view into the band’s practice room is barely obscured by a curtain flapping in the breeze.

Lazy Native, a band grown from the Denton music scene, will play its first festival this Thursday as the North by 35 Music Conferette kicks off four days of concerts in downtown Denton.

The two-car garage that serves as the band’s studio might not seem like much, but the members all agree that it’s better than the space where they began three years ago.

“We had some kind of loud, little practices in P.J.’s dorm room, which I think we got in trouble for a couple of times,” said singer-songwriter Melcher Rockwood. He refers to his cousin P.J. Rockwood, the group’s drummer.

Melcher Rockwood said the band started at the University of North Texas, where he met guitarist Cody Spence, a music student.

“It started in the fall of 2007. Cody and I lived in the same dorms on campus at UNT, and we got together and started playing open mikes. I had a bunch of songs written and he played guitar, and we jammed out a couple times,” Melcher Rockwood said.

In the beginning, Spence and the Rockwood cousins had only that tiny room. Now, the garage of a rented house gives them more space to lay down jams.

The other three members of the band — Ryan Reed, Kellen Williams and tambourine player Lane Davis — came into the band through a series of chance meetings.

“We met at orientation and then we happened to run into each other again on the first day of school,” said Reed, the group’s bassist.

Williams was invited to add the sound of his keyboard to Lazy Native’s evolving style — rock tinged with hints of blues and psychedelic sounds.

“I believe this music kind of makes up the majority of who we each are, and it’s something that we love to do,” P.J. Rockwood said. “If times get tough, I think we’ll push really hard just to be able to play the music.”

The members say it’s their passion for music, not the glory that comes from playing shows with big names, that is exciting.

“I listen to [the music] and I find that there’s truth and real passion behind it, and I find that it can be moving and maybe have that effect on somebody else,” Melcher Rockwood said. “That’s what really inspires me to keep doing it.”

Lazy Native’s members said they’ve gotten over being nervous onstage, and now it’s just about putting on a good show for anyone who will listen.

“There could be a hundred people there and only five people actually get something out of it — even then, that’s mission accomplished,” Melcher Rockwood said. “It’s an amazing thing to make people feel.”

IF YOU GO

North by 35 Music Conferette runs Thursday through Sunday at venues throughout downtown Denton. All-access wristbands are $65. All-venue wristbands for all single-night programming are $20; Saturday single-night wristbands are sold out. No walk-up wristbands will be sold. Register for wristbands at www.nx35.com. Patrons must present valid ID and a voucher to pick up their wristbands between noon and 9 p.m. at NX35 registration at the Denton Record-Chronicle building, 314 E. Hickory St.

LAZY NATIVE SHOW

Thursday NX35 concert at Texas 8 Ball, 218 W. Oak St. Shows start around 8 p.m. Visit www.nx35.com.